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Spectre
"Justice... What is justice without vengeance, Phantom Stranger? Simply a slap on the wrist, and an invitation for evil to continue... unabated" - Spectre's response to Phantom Stranger commenting on how Batman conquered tragedy. History Origin The story of the Spectre is as old as time itself. The physical manifestation of God's vengeance, the Spectre has the job of punishing evildoers and sending their souls to hell (or to final judgement). He believes that Batman should be more brutal in stopping villains, and can be quite manipulative. His closest ally is a fellow being called the Phantom Stranger, whose views on justice differ with Spectre's. The Spectre first appears in the series in "Chill of the Night!," as he and the Phantom Stranger wager for Batman's soul over what Batman will do to the man who killed his parents. If Batman kills Chill, he will become a violent agent of vengeance, like the Spectre himself. If not, he will remain a free agent. During the episode, the Spectre appears to Batman and shows him the event where Chill is given the assignment to kill Bruce Wayne's father. Later, after the Batman has attacked Chill, and revealed his secret identity to him, and is on the verge of killing him, the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre appear to Batman. The mystical heroes respectively prod Batman to spare or kill his parents' murderer. To the Spectre's disappointment, Batman spares Chill's life. Later, a falling ceiling (damaged by a misfired weapon) kills Chill before he can reveal Batman's identity. It is strongly hinted that the Spectre was the cause of Chill's death. The Spectre also appears in the teaser for "Gorillas in our Midst!" as he and Batman break up a diamond robbery committed by Dr. Milo and his remote-controlled rats. The ghost prepares to deal final justice to Milo, only to be stopped by Batman. Milo then takes a potion that turns him into a monster. He attacks Batman while the Spectre grimly watches and teases Batman about the time spent toying with the "mortal". During the fight, Spectre saves the caged rats from a falling building column, but otherwise does not intervene. After Batman defeats Milo, he and Spectre argue over Batman's insistence that he leave Milo for the police. Expressing his displeasure, the ghost leaves......but returns after Batman exits as well, leaving Milo alone. Saying that it is time for Milo's evil to "consume him," the Spectre releases the rats from their cage and turns Milo into a living cheese as the hungry vermin approach. Powers and Abilities Spectre has vast reality warping abilities. As a ghost, he is also capable of flight and phasing through objects. As the "spirit of vengeance," the Spectre takes a dim view of criminal activities and usually metes out punishment in an extreme fashion. He also displays a sense of irony, as many of his punishments seem to fit the crime. Why Cheese? Turning evildoers into living, but non-human, objects was one way that writers of the Spectre comics reportedly dealt with the problem of depicting the Spectre's vengeance in a way that would pass the Comics Code. The Comics Code would have forbidden showing rats attacking and devouring a living human being - but if the rats devoured a living cheese, that was OK, even if the cheese was screaming in the same way as a person would. Also, turning Milo into cheese to feed him to the rats would also be logical, as it would make sense for rodents like rats to eat cheese. "Gorillas in Our Midst!" does not show rats eating Dr. Milo alive, even in cheese form. It merely lets us know that he is still conscious as a cheese, so we can fill in the gaps with our own imaginations. Appearances * Chill of the Night! * Gorillas In Our Midst! * Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth! Behind the Scenes The Spectre is voiced by Mark Hamill, who voiced The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, alongside Kevin Conroy as Batman. Category:Heroes Category:Ghosts Category:Magic Users Category:Characters Category:World War II Category:Justice Society of America Category:Males Category:Supporting Characters